One Month Later
"Sokka, don't give up now! You can surely push forward even more if you try!" Kyojuro boomed.
"I'm trying *huff* you stamina freak *huff*..." Sokka groaned.
One full month had passed since the invasion of the fire nation and Kyojuro had spent his time wisely. The rebuilding of the lost houses went smoothly and the treating of any injured had gone even smoother. Although he'd be lying to himself if he still wasn't peeved at the only reason there weren't any casualties was due to Zhao's arrogance earlier. Had he attacked them with more force they'd have lost and this fact made his spirit burn even brighter. Seeing the warriors swordsmanship lacking along with other factors like stamina being so low compared to his, Kyojuro had taken it upon himself to train any and all who wanted to grow stronger.
"You're almost there, keep pushing forward!" Kyojuro watched eagerly as Sokka finished his last lap around their custom track that Kyojuro had carved out thanks to his flame breathing. It wasn't as fancy as the one they had back home, but it'd definitely be efficient in training these people.
Sokka finished his last lap and collapsed across the snowy finish line, clearly out of breath and dazed, but satisfied nonetheless.
"That…*wheeze*...was awful!" he forced out.
"Haha! That was even better than yesterday. You should have your head held high!" Kyojuro shot back.
"When I first started training, I could barely complete these laps either so the fact that you can do even a quarter of what I use to train is incredible! Water tribe men are truly something spectacular!"
What Kyojuro failed to include was the fact that he just made not only Sokka, but every other warrior run fifty or so laps around his track and this was supposed to be a warm up.
"You're telling me this isn't even HALF of what you did!" Sokka could feel himself getting sick imagining what else this man had in store for them. "Ugh why can't things be easier?"
"Sokka, you of all people know how much harder you have to work compared to everyone else right? You cannot bend any element so people will look down on you because of ingrained prejudices against non benders and…"
Sokka sat back up with determination reaching his tired expression, "Yeah, you don't have to remind me of it. I already feel bad enough, Kyojuro…"
When Zhao's men were attacking and Katara had snuck away, he went out to look for her only to find his sister being beaten by his men. He tried to stop them from hurting her, but it only got him knocked out and thrown aside like garbage. He was so low on their radar that they didn't even find it worth the effort to tie him up and make sure he wasn't a factor in everything.
"Weak," Sokka said.
The feeling of helplessness and uselessness that inhabited his body at that time never truly went away, so when Kyojuro offered to train anyone who wanted to grow stronger, Sokka jumped at the opportunity even if he was miles behind everyone else in every aspect.
"I couldn't help dad and I couldn't help Katara when she truly needed her big brother. I…"
Kyojuro could see the same fiery determination in his eyes that his sister has and he smiled already knowing the answer about to come out of his mouth.
"I don't wanna keep getting in the way. I wanna get strong enough that both of them can depend on me sometimes instead of it being the other way around. Even if I'm weak right now, that doesn't mean I can keep sitting around and doing nothing if I wanna be strong like you."
"Right, Kyojuro?"
"Of course, Sokka!" Kyojuro replied. "Even if you have to drag yourself across that line, as long as you put in the work and dedication then you'll be able to do it!"
"Jeez, you make it sound so easy compared to normal people like us. Not everyone is born special like you or has special talents like my sister, but if my dad can become a strong leader capable of protecting things, then I'll carve my own path and do the same."
He held his fist out towards Kyojuro, "That's a promise," Sokka finished.
Kyojuro fist bumped him back with a smile on his face and nodded in acknowledgement of the promise. Sokka was far too down on himself for the incident as there was nothing he could've done to stop them from attacking to begin with. But no matter how many times it was explained to him, he would hear none of it. He felt at fault for the attack on his home and how badly his sister paid the price for it and he would not stand on the sidelines playing hero anymore.
Kyojuro took notice of that and decided to nurture that spark into something that would become great much further down the line.
"Speaking of your sister, how is she?" Kyojuro asked. He hadn't seen much of her since the attack last month as she was being tended to by every physician Hakoda could get his hands on.
"She's fine now, but…" Kyojuro didn't miss how Sokka held back a seemingly crucial detail from his answer.
"It's fine, Sokka. If the question was too personal then forgive me for asking. I only wanted to make sure she was healthy once more after that horrific incident," Kyojuro stated.
"Anytime I ask about her, the answer I receive from others is always in the form of a non answer and I'm beginning to think she's still scared of me.."
"No!" Sokka exclaimed.
"No...trust me Kyojuro, you're definitely not the one at fault. Katara is stubborn to a fault and hates admitting when she's wrong. Whenever I talk to her about it she tries to change the subject, but even someone as young as me can see what she's thinking plain as day."
"She's-"
"Conflicted," Hakoda interrupted, now walking towards both of them.
"Dad? What are you doing here?" Sokka asked. Hakoda rarely had time to attend these workout sessions as he was busy finalizing their trip to the earth kingdom in a few more weeks.
"I came here to speak with him."
"What do you need of me, Hakoda?"
He sighed before starting, "Kyojuro let me make one thing perfectly clear, nobody here hates you anymore, especially not my daughter. Everyone was conflicted when you first showed up, but after that invasion and you fighting so hard for our sake, even the staunchest critics couldn't find it in their hearts to keep disliking you."
"Katara takes heavily after my wife, appearance wise and personality wise so it doesn't surprise me in the slightest that she's acting like this towards you. You're connected to the people who took Kya away from us and use flames which can burn anything away like nothing."
"That's not fair dad, Kyojuro isn't like-"
"But you're also the one who fought so hard to protect us and saved her life with, and I quote, "A smile so bright it made my heart hurt". She's supposed to hate you because of what you are and where you come from and yet she finds it hard to do so."
"It left her mind heavily clouded in judgement so she asked us to not inform you of her condition at all until her head became clearer."
"Wait so does that mean-"
"Yes Sokka, it means your sister has finally figured some things out and needs to speak with him about it."
"Kyojuro, if you're up to it, she's awake right now and wants to chat. I know my daughter hasn't been the kindest to you, but I think she really wants some insight into you that she's lacking as of now," Hakoda said.
"I've been wanting to check up on Katara since the raid and now have the opportunity to clear the air between us while shortening the gap that divides us as well! I'll be sure to make this moment count!"
"That's good to hear. Follow me and I'll lead you back to the tent she's been staying in."
All three then left and made way for where Katara was currently located and little did they know, she had a multitude of things running through her head regarding Kyojuro and everything connected to him.
Katara sat up in her bed still somewhat sore, but otherwise completely healed, save for a small scar on her right hand from where Zhao had burned her.
She was quite anxious since telling her dad to bring that man to speak with her as she had avoided him ever since Zhao and his men attacked. So many conflicting thoughts ran through her head while trying to figure out how the talk with him may go, but the main thought that pushed itself to the forefront was the thanks he never received for saving her life and the apology for trying to expose him as a fraud when he first arrived.
Her grandmother who was sitting near her, had already heard Katara muttering to herself over and over throughout the day, clearly nervous about the coming talk and decided to give her some much needed advice and relief.
"Katara, what do you think of Kyojuro as a person?" Kanna asked. "It won't be long before he arrives with your father and brother so you need to have your head on straight before things become even more complicated for you."
"You already know how I feel about him! He's fire nation and a fire bender too! He should be evil just like them, but noooo he has to be all noble and kind and anything else good under the sun."
Kanna could see her becoming worked up, but felt no need to stop her. The women in the family had tempers that if left unopened for too long could cause them to lash out at the wrong times and at people who didn't deserve it. Letting her grandchild get it out of her system now would be better for her in the long run so she'd indulge her until they got here.
"So much about him makes me so frustrated and even after everything that happened…"
"He still protected you," Kanna added.
"Yeah, he did protect me," She got out of bed and walked towards the lit fire sitting in the middle of the room, "That's what's so confusing to me, Gran Gran. We treated him horribly and spat insults at him constantly and even though I still have hatred for his people, he didn't hesitate to throw his life away if it meant protecting mine."
"What kind of idiot does that?"
Chuckling, Kanna knew the feelings that were lingering in her grandchild's mind better than most. The fire nation had taken people close to her plenty of times in her lifetime and although older and wiser, cannot recall a man as strange as Kyojuro throughout her entire lifetime.
"Who knows, Katara? I won't sit here and act like a kind hearted firebender isn't new to me because it is, but what I will tell you is to follow your heart."
"Follow my heart?" Katara wondered. "What do you mean by that?"
"Kyojuro, while being from that cursed nation, has shown us more kindness than our brother tribe that has abandoned us in the north pole. Numerous tragedies occurred while they had plenty of manpower to help and instead chose to sit back and ignore us as they continued to happen. For the first time in a long time, he gives the older generation hope that the things we went through and endured don't trickle down to the next generation."
Kanna walked up to her niece and placed both hands on her shoulders, "I've followed my heart throughout my entire life, so when it came time for me to ask myself whether or not I can trust him, one question above all else rang loud in my mind."
"What question would that be?" Katara asked.
"If someone like Kyojuro were here when that raid happened three years ago, would Kya still be alive?"
Katara's heart immediately began to ache at hearing her deceased mothers name.
"Would he have fought tooth and nail to save her? Would he throw away his own life to save her's? Would he betray his nation if it meant fighting for what's right?"
"These are the types of questions that I sought answers to and after the raid last month, the conclusion I came up with was fairly simple. Do you know what that answer would be, Katara?"
She held back her answer, while Kanna smiled calmly at her.
"I truly believe that she'd still be here if Kyojuro had shown up earlier and if this is the case then I have nothing to fear from a man who would've saved my daughter's life had circumstances been different."
"I was able to find some peace with my inner turmoil and now it's your turn, Katara. Follow your heart when you talk to him and I'm sure everything will be ok."
"But, Gran Gran…" She sighed in frustration before sitting back on her bed, "I know it's selfish and I probably shouldn't think like this, but there's a part of me that still doesn't want to forgive him."
"He saved my life and fought off those people and I still feel that small corner of hatred for him and his people that's sitting alone in my heart."
"That's ok, Katara. Forgiveness doesn't come easy especially when you've lived a life full of hardship like us. Even though Kyojuro has nothing to do with the raid, the darkness in your heart holds you back from not associating him with his people's sins."
"Don't lose heart, however. When you talk to him, I'm sure your heart will guide you in the right direction. Speaking of that…"
The curtain opened up and Hakoda entered, "Katara, how are you feeling?"
She hugged her dad who could see she was still nervous about the meeting, "I'm fine, dad. Just have a few butterflies in my stomach. Nothing for you to worry about."
Hakoda looked over at his mother before kneeling down on one knee and looking his daughter square in the eye, "I know even though you try to hide it, you are extremely nervous about talking to Kyojuro and that's fine. I don't want to pressure you into doing something you aren't ready for so say the word and I'll turn him around and tell him something came up."
"No! I said I wanted to talk with him and even if I'm not ready, I need to face my fears and get this over with. Until I do it feels like I can't move forward and I'll keep being stuck in place with no escape in sight."
"If this is what you really want, then fine. We'll leave the room and give the two of you some privacy."
"Wait, you and Gran Gran aren't going to be here?" she asked.
"Well no, Katara. This is a private issue between the two of you and it wouldn't accomplish much if we were overseeing it. Each of us had to find our own answers regarding how we feel about Kyojuro and now it's your turn."
"You can do this," he said and hugged his daughter tightly before letting her go.
He stood up and motioned for Kanna to follow him out of the home leaving Katara alone waiting for him to enter.
"Stay calm, Katara. Dad was right...you can do this." Her nerves completely betrayed her thoughts however as the anxiety of being in the same room alone with someone who pulled her in every direction caused her to almost feel nauseous and light headed. Still, no matter how she felt about it, she would see this through until she got her answer just like everyone else.
Kyojuro interrupted her thoughts and walked through the curtain leaving Katara completely frozen as if she'd seen a ghost.
"Katara! It's so good to see you again. How have you been?"
"F-fine, thanks for asking," she answered, still nervous.
"That's good to hear! I don't know what I'd have done if even with all my strength, I failed to protect you."
There it was again. No matter how much she didn't want to admit it, he truly cared about them. So why was it so hard to just let things go when he had nothing to do with it.
"I've been meaning to speak with you for some time now and since I finally have the chance, let's clear the air between us," Kyojuro slowly approached her which sent her nerves into overdrive.
"S-stay back! Don't come any closer!"
Kyojuro froze where he stood in fear of upsetting her anymore than she already was. How could he be so foolish? Of course a small child would still be scared of a fire bender after almost being killed by one. It was partly his fault she had to go through all that anyway.
"Forgive me for my rudeness, Katara."
He kneeled down and placed his forehead on the ground as if to completely submit to her and showed he had no ill intent towards her.
"First off allow me to apologize for my inability to stop those men earlier. They hurt so many of your people while you arguably took the worst of it. My status as a Pillar should be stripped for allowing someone as kind as you to endure such hardships under my watch. If I could've done so, I'd have swapped places with you in a heartbeat."
"What's he doing? Why is he like this?" Katara wondered. He's not supposed to be like this. Why can't he just act the way he's supposed to..
"I almost was too late to save you from dying and for that you have my humblest apologies as well."
"You...you can raise your head. It's ok, I know that what happened last month wasn't completely your fault."
He lifted his head with the same smile that irked her for so long. "Stop it...stop doing that…"
"Excuse me for asking, but is the reason for not wanting to see me tied to the fact that you, Sokka and Ponru schemed up that plan upon my arrival?"
She froze up once again completely caught off guard by an accusation she knew was true. "There's no way he could've known about that! We made sure to keep it between us…"
"Wh-what are you talking about? I have no idea what you mean," she lied.
"Katara, there is no reason to lie to me. I'm not mad at all," he said. "Although I do have some questions of my own about why you all did that."
If not her then who could've told him about that? Ponru was a battle hardened warrior who wouldn't break even if he was tortured for days on end with no rest in between. So she could rule him out. So if she didn't tell and neither did Ponru, that would only leave…
"Sokka," she groaned. Out of all the candidates to scheme with, of course her immature goofball of a brother would be the first to rat them out when the going got tough.
"Did he tell you? Of course he did! All he had to do was keep quiet so we wouldn't get into trouble and now Dad is going to be mad at all of us. Great going!"
"Um...Sokka didn't tell me anything."
"Huh?"
"I said Sokka didn't tell me anything," Kyojuro repeated. "Ponru didn't either."
"Wait, so how do you know about us planning together?" she asked.
"Because you just told me," he stated.
"That's...you aren't even making sense! How did you know to ask me that if you didn't hear about it from either of them?"
He flashed her another smile and switched positions, now sitting crisscrossed, "Well I am a Pillar and one of the main requirements I use when searching and fighting my enemies is using my intuition and deductive reasoning!"
"Also my eyesight is really good so I was able to notice how sorrowful you looked while hiding yourself away as I was swimming back to shore and Ponru's expression was even worse than that. Combine that with you two being the most hostile towards me before the raid and it was a no brainer on my part."
"So you mean to tell me, I'm the reason why you know about what we did?"
"Exactly!" he boomed.
"How could you be so stupid, Katara? Me and my big mouth just spilled the beans and now he's going to tell dad and he'll probably resent us for trying to get him in more trouble," she took a moment to focus in on Kyojuro who was probably doing the exact opposite of what she thought.
The air around them while tense still had a feeling of warmth she couldn't shake. Here she was being found out for trying to expose him and yet she found no trace of hate in his expression. If anything he almost seemed...hopeful of something. She desperately wanted to know what that was.
"So if you figured it all out, why don't you seem upset?"
"Because I'm not!" he responded.
He's lying, he has to be. No sane individual would be so lax when it came to something as serious as to what they did and once again, she felt not even a hint of resentment coming from him.
"Well, why aren't you mad?" she wanted to know what was going through his head because it sure wasn't common sense.
"Because I know you're a good person who only had everyone's best interest at heart. To you I must've been nothing more than a danger who could harm everyone you care about with these flames of mine."
"Even so!"
"I feel no ill will against any of you as you only did what you did out of concern for everyone's safety!"
Kyojuro stared her down and the sheer intensity of his gaze almost made her eyes water.
Almost. There was no way she was going to cry in front of this man. She would show no weakness in front of a firebender.
Even one as kind as him. She can't...she just can't bring herself to do it.
"I only wanted to know why, even now, I still feel some sort of hidden resentment. I felt it ever since I walked into the room and even as we speak, I can feel it festering, waiting for a chance to release itself."
He reached his hand out and Katara almost had to do a double take as she saw a slight image of her mother in this man, "Are you ok? Is there anything you need to get off your chest?"
"If so then allow me to be your ear and you can air all your grievances out to me!"
The tears. She's trying so hard to keep them back, but it's a futile effort and one manages to slip past her guard in anger and confusion that's been building throughout their conversation.
"Stop…" Kyojuro doesn't miss how her body language changes towards anger and the tear that hits the ground sets off a chain reaction.
"Stop acting like you understand everybody...stop acting like you can magically fix everyone's problems…" more tears flowed down her face and Kyojuro had to hold himself back from reaching out to her in fear that she'd retreat away from him even more.
"You don't get to ask about our wellbeing or anything that concerns us!" She gets louder and knows the people monitoring outside can hear her, but can't find it in herself to care right now.
"How dare you! How can you sit there with that happy attitude of yours after everything that's happened? We lost people to the fire nation! I lost my mother and you think I want to sit here and chat!"
Kyojuro didn't dare interrupt her as he'd seen this scenario before. He wished he wasn't watching something that could be called dejavu, but the universe worked in mysterious ways after all.
"Katara, I understand you are upset and that's why I'm here to-"
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" She grew even louder and tears dropped completely uncontrolled as she'd given up on trying to control herself.
"You being here now changes nothing. My mother is still dead and it's all your fault! If you're such a great hero then why didn't you stop them three years ago? Why didn't you do something when it actually mattered?"
She looked at Kyojuro with eyes full of sadness and he had a hunch where her mind had been since the raid.
"If only...If only you were here when it actually mattered then maybe my mom wouldn't be dead right now…"
"Why weren't you here!?" she fell to her knees with a face full of tears, "Why couldn't someone like you have shown up sooner?"
Outside the tent, Hakoda was holding back tears listening to his daughter's rant, but held them back as he'd need to be strong for her when they talk afterwards and Kanna, having already made peace with things, still ached to be by her granddaughter's side.
The real reason why Katara held so much contempt for Kyojuro wasn't because of his ties to the fire nation nor his ability to firebend. The reason itself was rooted in what ifs that haunted her thoughts. Had Kyojuro gotten here earlier, her mother wouldn't have died in such a horrific way and she'd still be here with her family like she was supposed to be. Being alive and watching her children grow up and nurturing them was never supposed to be interrupted.
But fate wouldn't let them stay together and now she's in the same room with someone who fate brought to them far too late for it to matter. His kind and genuine smile would've been useful all those years ago, but now it seems like wasted effort to her.
"Mom, forgive me, I know what I'm thinking is selfish and wrong on so many levels, but...I can't help myself."
Before she could wallow in her pity any longer, she felt a warm embrace envelope her and immediately knew who it was from the stature and warmth she felt.
"I want you to know that it's ok to think thoughts like those. You're so young and have endured much more than you should have too. As much as I wish it weren't the case, you are completely right about my absence during the raid that killed your mother."
The embrace grew warmer and calmed her chaotic nerves the longer they stayed there. It reminded her so much of her mother and even as she hated this man, she wanted nothing more than to stay like this for as long as possible.
"When I spoke with Kishna, our talks eventually did spiral down this path as well and I had it explained to me just how bad things were for them. She informed me of how when she entered her home, her husband and son had been executed in such a manner that it caused her mind to shut down for months after seeing it."
"The hatred she holds for the fire nation most likely will not end until her time on this planet ends and as much as I don't want her to think like that, I understand her point of view."
He pulled Katara away from him while holding her shoulders and looking her in the eyes, "If you never find it in your heart to forgive me, I'll completely understand, but that's why I'll continue to protect you until the end."
"Why?" She didn't understand, she couldn't understand why he was like this. But she still had an urge to know why.
"If you'll humor me for a bit, allow me to tell you a story from my past. My mother grew extremely sick after having my brother and she knew her time with us would be cut extremely short. My father grew more and more depressed seeing her in that state and soon could no longer wield a blade to protect others. A few days before her passing, I spoke with her about what it meant to be strong and what it entailed."
"She told me that I should use the gifts I possess like my strong and sturdy body to protect others who can't do it for themselves and even now these are words I live by!"
"Katara, it's clear as day that you and your people have been hurt tremendously by the fire nation so it's only natural that I stand up and fight for you! I need no other reason than that!"
He pulled her back into the hug, "No matter what you may be feeling or going through currently, even if you hate my guts, I'll still be here to shield you if you ever need someone to hide behind while you cry!"
"I…" She was at a loss for words in hearing the kind words flowing from his mouth like water. Everything he said sounded so genuine and it only served to make her feel worse about the feelings she's harboring.
"I…"
"Kyojuro, I-"
"You don't have to say anything more if you don't want to. Until you feel better, even if only for a moment, I'll prop myself up so the world can't see you cry! It's only you and me here, Katara. It's ok to show weakness to someone you hate."
"I don't know if anything I do can change the way you feel about me and that's fine. The way you feel about me will never change the way I feel about you guys!"
He's too bright. Too good. Too pure for her to keep her guard up like this. It will never work against a man such as him.
She can't do it anymore. He's too different from what she wants him to be and it's infuriating and...calming. This hatred she's holding onto is resilient, but this person in front of her is slowly, but surely breaking through the surface of her heart and trying his absolute hardest to eradicate the darkness lurking there.
She finally returned the hug and tears slid down her face once again, but this time they felt different. It felt as if a huge boulder had been lifted off her shoulders and she could finally try and move forward again.
"I wanted to say thank you for saving me."
"I also wanted to apologize for acting like a massive jerk to you.
"I'm sorry for thinking these thoughts."
Apologies for things she didn't even know she was sorry for spilled out as well and Kyojuro only tightened the hug, feeling her emotions crashing into him.
"I'm sorry for not being strong enough to protect you mom," she sobbed.
That was the straw that broke the camel's back for Hakoda and a few tears managed to get through while Kanna patted his back in solace.
Kyojuro was listening to this young girl sob continuously in his chest and he silently thanked the spirits and Agni above for blessing him this chance to be here for this young girl who clearly needed him. Whatever was going on in this world was sure to cause more pain, heartbreak and misery for others just like her and no matter the circumstances, he'd try and stretch his reach as far as possible to prevent incidents such as the raid from happening again.
"Katara, do you want to become strong enough to protect others?"
She stopped crying momentarily to process what he'd just said, "More than anything. I don't want more people getting hurt because I can't do anything about it."
"Alright then leave it to me! I'll train you until you're satisfied and capable of protecting the things you want to protect!"
"You're most likely tired and worn out and you don't have to answer me now, but as long as you put in the work, I'm sure you can become someone strong! Your mother is already proud of you for being so courageous and kind, so becoming strong should only serve to make her happier!"
For the first time in this long and draining conversation, she smiles. Even as tears are still falling down her face and her nerves and emotions are in chaos and shambles, she sees another glimpse of her mother and his words bring her hope.
She pushes her face back into his chest and cries, still needing to get it out of her system. Eventually she passes out in his arms and Kyojuro places her back into her bed with a newfound understanding of her and what she's been through.
He needs to speak with Hakoda. He has a lot to do here before he can leave, it seems.
Walking out of the tent, he sees Hakoda wiping his eyes and Kanna looking at him with a warm expression on her face.
"Hakoda, we need to talk," Kyojuro begins.
"I know, Kyojuro. I've been meaning to ask you for a favor myself."
"I don't think I can ride to the earth kingdom with you in a few weeks. It's clear to me that someone needs to stay here and protect them while you're away. I know you might not agree with me, but I know my calling right now is to stay here and protect them."
"Funny you should mention that as I was going to ask you the same thing," Hakoda replied.
"We may have started off on rocky footing, but no man could view you as someone with any ill intent after what you just did for my daughter. We already see you as an honorary warrior for our tribe and with your strength, I would've gotten on my hands and knees and begged to get you to stay and guard my home until we return."
"But it seems like we're on the same page, huh," he smiles and Kyojuro can tell he's relieved as he turns away to wipe more tears from his eyes.
Kanna, who hasn't said a word throughout the whole ordeal, walks over to Kyojuro and touches his chest, "They were not lying when they spoke of how warm you are."
"From the bottom of my heart, thank you for finally getting my granddaughter to open up like that. She's stubborn so the fact that she managed to open up to you of all people is quite the feat," she chuckled.
"It was nothing! I only saw someone who needed my help and acted upon it. You don't have to praise me for doing something anyone would do."
"Kya, this man really has your spirit…" She now saw why even the most hardened warrior found it hard to keep their guard up around him.
"For now we should all move out of the cold and figure out our next move," she said.
"My son has much to think about before leaving and you have quite a bit on your mind don't you Kyojuro?"
"How could you tell?" Normally people have a hard time seeing when he's troubled, Kanna in her wisdom had gained the ability to see through people who even try to hide it.
"You're upset. Angry, no, you're furious about something," she stated. "Why are you upset, Kyojuro?"
"I'm sorry, but it's a bit too personal to share if that's ok," In reality his heart was torn at her plight and it was almost easy for him to see his own little brother in Katara. He might've been too weak to help him in his world, but he would not make the same mistake here as well. He'd give it his all to create a brighter future for everyone involved.
"That's fine, dear. Just know if you ever need a shoulder to lean on, I'll be here just like the others. You don't have to shoulder stuff alone."
"I'll keep that in mind!" he replied.
All three of them moved into the tent, Katara was sleeping in and decided to simply chat and discuss the things going on around them.
Things moved quickly after that, with Hakoda and his men getting ready to set sail for the earth kingdom with a small group of remaining firebenders who weren't killed in the raid. Tearful goodbyes were said and while saddened, they knew this was the best chance they had to contribute to an already out of control war with no end in sight.
"Protect them for me...for us," Hakoda asked Kyojuro before boarding his ship.
"If something happens, I'll eradicate anyone who steps foot here with evil intentions!"
"You have my word, chief!"
He knew his people were in good hands with Kyojuro being here to protect them while they were away. Boarding the ship and setting sail was one of the hardest things Hakoda has ever done and probably will do in his lifetime, but at least he doesn't have to worry about whether or not his children will be alive when he returns. As long as someone as strong as Kyojuro is there protecting them, everything will be alright.
It's not like this will set off a chain reaction that will drag him and his children into an even bigger mess thanks to a certain someone awakening from an iceberg over a century later. Not even a small chance that could happen.
Two years later
"Sokka, you know Kyojuro is gonna get upset if we stray too far off course!"
"Relax, Katara, I know what I'm doing," he shot back.
Kyojuro had sent both siblings out to fish for food and Sokka had given his word that they wouldn't get into any trouble since they were going alone.
"Why can't you just admit when you're wrong for once? We should just turn around and let Kyojuro hunt for fish. He can dive underwater and isn't he the only one with the ability to stay warm even in the freezing cold?"
"That may be true, but you underestimate my pride as a water tribe warrior. I told him I'd be the one to catch us fish and I won't be turning around empty handed," he retorted.
She couldn't believe him. It's like he's ignoring everything she's saying and letting it go in one ear and out the other.
"You're unbelievable!" she snapped.
"You didn't have to join. You could've stayed home with the rest of the woman and washed clothes," he shot back.
"And why would I do that, Sokka?" He was almost about to hit a nerve and the crazy thing is, he didn't even know how easily he was doing it.
"Well because you're a girl duh. You should've just stayed back home if you don't like the way I do things."
"Oh wow, Sokka, real mature! Isn't this the exact opposite of what Kyojuro scolded you about last time?"
"Well, he's not here now, is he? This means as I'm older, I'm in charge until further notice."
Before she could respond to the nonsense coming from her brother, the currents began to pick up, shaking the small raft they were in, rattling both of them.
"What the-"
"Katara, sit down! The current just got wild all of a sudden."
The currents quickly picked up leaving the two fighting against it in a desperate attempt to keep from crashing. Sokka tried his best to keep from crashing into the large chunks of ice, but to his annoyance his little sister was still nagging his ear off.
"Go left! Go left!"
"Be quiet! I'm trying to keep us from crashing!"
He maneuvered through the chunks of ice and did a pretty decent job up until ignoring her advice about turning left and sandwiching the boat between two huge ones and seeing as they had no other option, decided to jump out and landed on another patch of ice as their boat was crushed between them.
"Great steering, Sokka," she groaned. "What part of "Go left" did you not understand?"
"Well maybe if you didn't like my steering then you should've used your magical water powers and waterbended us out," he casually stated much to her annoyance.
"Well maybe if you-" her arms shot backwards causing water to begin to stir.
"Um, Katara, maybe you shouldn't," he could see the waves grow bigger.
"Weren't such a stuck up, know it all, sexist, jerk-" completely oblivious to her surroundings the waves splashed in every direction as his eyes grew larger hoping he could calm his sister down before things grew worse.
"Katara, you have to listen to me," he tried.
"Then maybe we wouldn't even be in this mess to begin with!" With a final thrust of her arms the waves grew incredibly violent and smashed into the iceberg behind them shattering it into pieces.
Looking at the wreckage both siblings could see something bright inside it.
"What is that?" Sokka asked, bewildered.
"It looks like a person. At least I think it is," Katara answered.
Neither of them could possibly understand the amount of power they were about to unleash upon the world, but fate always did favor the avatar finding his way out of situations such as the one this young airbender had trapped himself in over one hundred years ago.
Act 0: End
We finally reached the true beginning of the story and this is where things will pick up exponentially for Kyojuro and the Gaang. I also hoped I managed to portray young Katara faithfully as she was incredibly difficult to write. I wanted to portray her conflicting thoughts to go along with Kyojuro's nature.
PS: Also I'm heading back home for two weeks until I can move into my new housing unit in August so I may not be able to drop a chapter until then, but in exchange the next one will be jam packed full of content as a result. Thanks again for reading!